During my interview, Corky shared with me his keyring–from his late father George’s Houston dance studio. (George’s other claim to fame? He created the Weed Eater!) Image copyright 2012 Pamela Price. All rights reserved.

Through my freelance work, I get to meet all sorts of interesting people–from all walks of life. For this month’s issue of a neighborhood paper produced by The Boerne Star, I spent an hour with a ballroom dancing celebrity!

An excerpt from my story:

What distinguishes iDanceCity from other dance studios is alluded to in the first letter of the studio’s name. Also making the business distinctive is the fact that the creative force behind it is a bona fide international ballroom dancing icon.

“That ‘i’ says a lot,” says Corky Ballas as he grabs an iPad and brings several large screen televisions down from their hidden ceiling nooks. “We are a state-of-the-art facility with the latest technology. Our classes and dances are a multi-media experience. I can [demonstrate dances] on the screen using my iPhone or my iPad, and our dancers can follow along at the beginning, intermediate or advanced levels as is appropriate for them. It is revolutionary. This approach allows us to teach more people to dance at once than ever before.”

Ballas knows a bit about dance revolutions, both literally and figuratively. He is an eight-time National Professional Latin Champion dancer and a three-time World Professional. Several of his former students, including his own son, are now Dancing with the Stars dancers. Ballas himself appeared on two seasons of the show.

“Dancing with the Stars is America’s number one show. We have eclipsed American Idol now. We have 35 million people viewing it every week. What we are doing with students in this studio is what we do with those celebrities every week. One need not be rich or famous to experience the power of dance and what it does for the body. We humans must do things to live and not just exist. Dance allows us to do that. It is a sport that is transcendent of ordinary experience, worries and concerns.”
You need not be a DWTS fan to recognized Corky. If you’ve got a television, you might recognize him from this Pepsi commercial: